What My Father and I Don't Talk About: Sixteen Writers Break the Silence: Volume 2

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A follow-up to the wildly successful What My Mother and I Dont Talk About, this collection of essays from sixteen notable writers breaks the silence on the complexand sometimes contentiousrelationships we have with our fathers.

What My Mother and I Dont Talk About has become a rare gem in the literary world. Both a viral sensation online and chosen by Oprah Daily as one of the best nonfiction books of the past two decades, it is an essential collection that dives into the personal and poignant topics we often struggle to discuss with those who are meant to know and love us best.

This captivating follow-up, edited by Michele Filgate, tackles the intricate and challenging relationships we have with our dads, breaking the silence around these vital connections. Andrew Altschul reflects on the life-altering experience of becoming a father and how it reshaped his view of his own dads parenting. Isle McElroy shares memories of weekends spent tagging along as their father fixed up the homes of their wealthier neighbors. Jaquira Daz delves into her fathers history in 1970s Williamsburg, uncovering the roots of their shared restlessness. Toms Q. Morn paints a raw portrait of an absentee father, while Kelly McMasters portrays a loving and dedicated one. Maurice Carlos Ruffin insightfully captures a father who communicated through his integrity rather than words. Jiordan Castle reveals how we can love our fathers from a distance and Susan Muaddi Darraj explores the particular challenges of eldest daughter syndrome as a daughter of Palestinian immigrants.

With moments that are both humorous and deeply moving, this anthology is the second act that many have been eagerly waiting for.

Contributions by Michele Filgate, Andrew Altschul, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Dylan Landis, Jaquira Daz, Kelly McMasters, Isle McElroy, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Toms Q. Morn, Robin Reif, Heather Sellers, Jiordan Castle, Nayomi Munaweera, Joanna Rakoff, and Julie Buntin.

Reviews

"This stunning collection gathers so many kinds of fathers; fathers selling cars, cutting hair, peeling apples, salting slugs, wearing dresses, arriving too late, fathers who were violent in their primes, cowed by end of life. I noted a few showing up to games under complicated circumstances, two who'd given up painting, and one surprising daddy. These essays are hilarious, comforting, confounding and devastating. If fathers point out the world to their kids, this book of kids points back in remarkable, beautiful ways."
Marie-Helene Bertino, author ofBeautyland

In her poignant contribution to this collection, Susan Muaddi Darraj writes: I get to see the layers of my father, all his various modes. The entirety ofWhat My Father And I Dont Talk Aboutgave me a similar sensation. The moving, varied essays assembled here showed me fathers in all their complexity and scopesometimes loving, sometimes withholding, assertively present and achingly distant. This brilliant book is a vital addition to the literature of fathers and their children, and to our understanding of the tender and fraught relationships between them.
Rosie Schaap, author ofThe Slow Road North

"Moving and deeply relatable, this collection explores the many faces of fathers, from the loving and the humorous to the absent and the terrifying. Each essay invites us into a different world and a different childhood,yetfindsunexpectedthroughlines of tenderness and vulnerability.What My Father and I Dont Talk Aboutwill have readers seeingin powerful new light the relationship that has shaped their lives and sense of self." Qian Julie Wang,New York Times bestsellingauthor ofBeautiful Country

Author Bio

MicheleFilgateis the editor ofWhat My Mother and I Dont Talk AboutandWhat My Father and I Dont Talk About.Her writing hasappeared inLongreads,Poets & Writers,The Washington Post,Los Angeles Times,The Boston Globe,The Paris Review Daily,Tin House,Gulf Coast, Oprah Daily,and many other publications. She received her MFA in Fiction from NYU, where she was the recipient of the Stein Fellowship.